Scrollcaster Tank Build?

[Killabkilled]

With Arcana being so powerful now, it seems to me a Scrollcaster Tank would be pretty powerful.  The idea would be that he stands there, drawing aggro, but instead of doing weapon damage, he'd just spam scrolls.

 

The difficulty would seem to be in allocating the stats, though.  To tank, you'd need CON & RES, and for the spells to do any good, you'd need MIG, PER, & INT, so maybe dump DEX?  I suppose you'd go single-class Shieldbearer Paladin, or multi-class it with a Chanter to chant while you cast, or maybe even with a Ranger to gain PER and a pet to melee your engagees.

 

You'd probably put him in heavy armor (Blackened or Patinated plate) and give him Cadhu Scalth and put passive points into Metaphysics, and once Arcana was maxed out, put a couple points in Athletics too.

 

Thoughts on this?

[araj123]

you dont need con and res to tank just go paladin / wizard or something like that

 

i was thinking about this aswell although one problem might be that the really broken arcana stuff gets unlocked with arcana 15 so early lvls might be an issue. Can probably build offensive early and once you can get arcana to 15 just spec more defensively.

 

Honestly Greater Maelstrom scroll is so broken you could probably beat the game naked once you can use it.

[Dorftek]

Streetfighter/Unbroken.

Lots of engagements to spread persistent distraction.

Massive action speed boost from heating up and armored grace.

Shield + handmortar to hobble and blind in AoE.

Good passive heals from fighter to buy time.

Deadeye drugs for tougher fights (still worth it even with low Alch)

Rogue gets to pick deep pockets.

Abraham pet or the +1 Arcana pet.

 

That's how I would do it I think but I tend to never ever use shields because they screw with my accuracy, and I like accuracy

 

I'd max out perception. The rest of the stats are slightly less important honestly.

Edited June 19, 2018 by Dorftek

[Teukros]

Turns out scrollcasting works with Frenzy, Blooded and Bloodlust Barbarian abilities. It also works with Fighting Spirit (human racial ability). So, I recommend human Barbarian dual-wielding scepters character with Destructive Channeling active. With Destructive Channeling you sholud reach Bloodied fairly quick. Then finish them with a few scrolls...

[CountGrishnackh]

Turns out scrollcasting works with Frenzy, Blooded and Bloodlust Barbarian abilities. It also works with Fighting Spirit (human racial ability). So, I recommend human Barbarian dual-wielding scepters character with Destructive Channeling active. With Destructive Channeling you sholud reach Bloodied fairly quick. Then finish them with a few scrolls...

destructive channeling doesnt really do much dmg, the only thing i ever played that took meaningful damage from it was serafen on my first playthrough on 450%+ action speed time parasite pre 1.1. just start with the scrolls and be done with it, bonus accuracy from human is a nice bonus when it happens, not something you plan every encounter around.

[AeonsLegend]

Yea it's pretty retarded that any class with any build with any setup with any stats can be a monstrous spellcaster. What's the point of playing a spellcasting class if everyone is a spellcasting class?

 

I think Arcana should be limited in choice for those that are actually a spellcasting class, and also make scrolls require a lot more arcana to use.

Edited June 20, 2018 by AeonsLegend

[AndreaColombo]

I think Arcana should be limited in choice for those that are actually a spellcasting class, and also make scrolls require a lot more arcana to use.

 

If you already get to cast spells per encounter, why would you bother investing in Arcana and spending resources on scrolls?

 

I mean, I don't bother with any class but I would especially not bother with a caster since it can already cast.

 

If you say Arcana scales too high right now, I can get behind that. If you say scrolls should be restricted then no; all it would do is make scrolls unfun and not worthwhile.

Edited June 20, 2018 by AndreaColombo

[AeonsLegend]

 

I think Arcana should be limited in choice for those that are actually a spellcasting class, and also make scrolls require a lot more arcana to use.

 

If you already get to cast spells per encounter, why would you bother investing in Arcana and spending resources on scrolls?

 

I mean, I don't bother with any class but I would especially not bother with a caster since it can already cast.

 

If you say Arcana scales too high right now, I can get behind that. If you say scrolls should be restricted then no; all it would do is make scrolls unfun and not worthwhile.

 

Arcana is a study focus for your character it makes no sense for a character that is not involved in such matters to do so. Right now Arcana allows you to break the game by giving you spells the class normally wouldn't have. It's in essense the UMD skill from D&D which is one of the most powerful skills to have and it is limited to bard, rogue and some prestige classes. It is also more limited than Arcana in this game. To me, it's just game breaking and makes any build a mage. It's just dumb.

[AndreaColombo]

Arcana is a study focus for your character it makes no sense for a character that is not involved in such matters to do so. Right now Arcana allows you to break the game by giving you spells the class normally wouldn't have. It's in essense the UMD skill from D&D which is one of the most powerful skills to have and it is limited to bard, rogue and some prestige classes. It is also more limited than Arcana in this game. To me, it's just game breaking and makes any build a mage. It's just dumb.

 

I would (potentially) agree if there were scrolls available for every single spell in the game, which is not the case. In no way does a character focusing on scrolls possess the same versatility or firepower as a full-blown caster. Sure, maxing out Arcana and using AoE nukes is overpowered, but that's due to Arcana's scaling too high rather than being a characteristic intrinsic to the mechanic.

 

I like Arcana as a way for non-casters to be able to use specific spells, and I don't find it as game-breaking (in principle) as UAI. It breaks the game now because of how it scales, but it didn't break the game in PoE. (And even now that it breaks the game, not everyone is using it—I like power builds and I didn't bother with scrolls or consumables at all, for example.)

[Teukros]

 

Turns out scrollcasting works with Frenzy, Blooded and Bloodlust Barbarian abilities. It also works with Fighting Spirit (human racial ability). So, I recommend human Barbarian dual-wielding scepters character with Destructive Channeling active. With Destructive Channeling you sholud reach Bloodied fairly quick. Then finish them with a few scrolls...

destructive channeling doesnt really do much dmg, the only thing i ever played that took meaningful damage from it was serafen on my first playthrough on 450%+ action speed time parasite pre 1.1. just start with the scrolls and be done with it, bonus accuracy from human is a nice bonus when it happens, not something you plan every encounter around.

 

What about Berserker/Paladin? With dual wielded scepters you don't have to worry about carnage, confusion penalty will be negated by Mental Fortress, and Berserker's Frenzy inflicts raw damage over time. With Destructive Channeling it should be enough to unlock Blooded and Fighting Spirit. Also, with Lay on Hands you should be able to keep damage under control.